Vanilla bisquits and lobola bridewealth: parallel discourses on early pregnancy and schooling in rural Zambia
- PDF / 579,897 Bytes
- 11 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 39 Downloads / 141 Views
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
Vanilla bisquits and lobola bridewealth: parallel discourses on early pregnancy and schooling in rural Zambia Astrid Blystad1,2*, Karen Marie Moland1,2, Ecloss Munsaka1,3, Ingvild Sandøy1,2 and Joseph Zulu1,4
Abstract Background: Adolescent pregnancy is a complex socio-economic phenomenon ranking high on the global health policy agenda. Early childbearing is associated with early marriage and school drop-out, and is defined as a problem to the health and development of girls. This paper reports from formative research. The formative research aimed to explore socio-cultural and structural dynamics at work behind early pregnancy and school drop out in rural Zambia. The study findings have been used to inform a school based intervention to reduce early pregnancy (RISE: ‘Research Initiative to Support the Empowerment of Girls’). Theoretically the study is informed by social constructionism. Methods: A qualitative approach was employed. Semi-structured qualitative interviews (61) and focus group discussions (7) were carried out with girls (in and out of school), boys, parents, teachers, health workers and community- and district leaders in 2014–15. Systematic text condensation was drawn upon in the analysis of the material. Results: The study findings indicate that the official Zambian discourse that presents early pregnancy as a serious challenge and schooling as the prime way to confront the problem enjoy substantial support at community levels. However, a parallel discourse on fertility, early marriage and childbearing as social and economic security surfaced and was articulated by the same study participants. The latter contrasting discourse questioned schooling as the only solution to secure a girl’s future arguing that there are many reasons why early pregnancy may emerge as rational. Conclusions: Grasping the complexity of local discourse is vital in planning health interventions. The present study revealed that although delayed child bearing and schooling among girls enjoyed high status and legitimacy in the study area, the social and economic context worked to reward early marriage. Interventions to reduce early pregnancies in rural Zambian communities need to fundamentally address the material constraints that condition and reinforce a culture of early childbearing. Keywords: Adolescent pregnancy, School dropout, National-local discourse, Zambia
* Correspondence: [email protected] 1 CISMAC (Centre for Intervention Science in Maternal and Child Health), Bergen, Norway 2 Centre for International Health, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s). 2020 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the
Data Loading...
